Display equipment maker Invenia has developed an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etcher for use in Gen 10.5 (2940x3370) substrates.
The company said the etcher can be used in Gen 10.5 OLED and liquid crystal display (LCD) production lines.
The firm has previously offered etchers for Gen 8.5 (2200x2500).
Dry etchers uses gas in plasma form to remove unnecessary parts on a circuit.
Besides ICP etcher, another kind of dry etcher is enhanced capacitive coupled plasma (ECCP).
ICP uses the antenna outside the chamber to control the plasma within the chamber. This allows for high density plasma with relatively low pressure.
ECCP produces plasma through two electrode placed top and bottom. It has a simple structure and allows for the controlling of the plasma density and ion energy.
Tokyo Electron has also recently finished developed of Gen 10.5 ICP dry etcher.
LG Display is testing kits from both the Japanese firm and Invenia.
Invenia was the exclusive supplier of both ICP and ECCP dry etchers to LG Display for their Gen 8.5 OLED factory at Guangzhou.
Both Invenia and Tokyo Electron are supplying ECCP dry etchers for Gen 10.5 LCD production lines to customers.
ICCP is around 50% more expensive than ECCP. But ECCP accounts for around 80% to 90% of the equipment used in display production lines.
Meanwhile, Invenia is looking for new sales from battery separator inspection kits and cosmetic packaging inspection equipment.
The company recorded 141 billion won in sales and 4.7 billion won in operating income last year, a drop of 3.5% and increase of 16.9%, respectively, from 2019.
China’s HKC is its largest customer and accounts for 46% of its sales. This is followed by BOE’s 25%, CSOT’s 15% and LG display’s 12%.